Semi-Final preview: Germany v Turkey
Table of Contents
Today we will see three-time champions Germany confront tournament dark horse Turkey in the semi-final of Euro 2008 in Basel.
The highly-fancied Germany are expected to extend their great achievements in major tournaments.
In total contrast, the Turks come into the match as clear underdogs and a mountain of injury and suspension problems, having only 12 fully fit outfield players available.
Six Turkey players will definitely out of the semi-final and possibly more depending on how they respond to treatment before kickoff.
The captain Emre Belözoğlu only has a 50-50 chance of returning.
With the limited resources they have, coach Fatih Terim said perhaps he may have to field third-choice goalkeeper Tolga Zengin as an outfield player if he is needed.
Forward Nihat Kahveci was ruled out of the competition as he has flown back to Spain for an operation on his thigh injury.
Emre Güngör is also out of the tournament through injury.
Defender Servet Çetin is almost certain to miss the semi-final as well with a knee problem, while Tümer Metin, who has a groin strain, may be able to play for the last 30 minutes.
Defender Emre Aşık and attacking midfielders Tuncay Şanlı and Arda Turan are the suspended players after picking up two yellow cards each.
Although Brazilian-born midfielder Mehmet Aurelio does return from his suspension, their skipper Emre is still unfit and had been rated 50-50 to recover in time for semi-final.
The former Newcastle player suffered a hamstring injury in Turkey's Group A opening defeat to Portugal, but has resumed training and could be forced back into action.
The decision on his fitness will be made just before kickoff.
Turkey's selection problems deepened after UEFA rejected their appeal against first choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel's suspension.
Volkan was shown a straight red card for pushing striker Jan Koller to the ground in injury-time of their final group match against Czech Republic.
He serving the second match of his two-match ban for that offense and missed Turkey’s quarter-final victory over Croatia.
However, Turkey have established themselves as the comeback kings after showing an astounding mental strength and never-say-die attitude in getting this far.
The Turks have trailed to Switzerland, Czech Republic and Croatia before scoring stoppage time goals and winning the matches.
Turkey will also be encouraged as they have a good recent record against the Germans.
They were unbeaten in the last three meetings between them, having won twice and drawn once.
But both sides have never met each other in the quarter-finals of a major international tournaments.
The situation is the exact opposite for the Germans, who came into the competition as one of the big favorites, as their preparations have gone smoothly.
Der trainer Joachim Löw will be back on the bench after his one-match ban in the stands.
Their hard-tackling midfielder Torsten Frings has recovered from a rib injury that kept him out of the quarter-final win against Portugal.
But Löw, who reinvented Lukas Podolski as a midfielder, will have to decide whether to stick with the winning formula he used against Portugal, or go back to his favoured 4-4-2.
The absence of Frings caused a change of formation from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1, which worked very well against Portugal.
However, for the 48-year-old, his players must put the work in, no matter what formation they use.
Löw, who had two spells coaching in Turkey, hopes today's semi-final would go peacefully on and off the pitch.
He took charge of Fenerbahçe, the most successful club in Turkey, in the 1998-99 season, and returned to the country in 2001 for a short spell at Adanaspor.
This match has effected significant tension to mount back in Germany, which boasts a three million of Turkish minority.
Germany is home to a three million people of Turkish origin and when Turkey qualified for the final four, fireworks exploded in the sky over Berlin and other cities as tens of thousands of people celebrated in the streets.
Possible line-up
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The highly-fancied Germany are expected to extend their great achievements in major tournaments.
In total contrast, the Turks come into the match as clear underdogs and a mountain of injury and suspension problems, having only 12 fully fit outfield players available.
Six Turkey players will definitely out of the semi-final and possibly more depending on how they respond to treatment before kickoff.
The captain Emre Belözoğlu only has a 50-50 chance of returning.
With the limited resources they have, coach Fatih Terim said perhaps he may have to field third-choice goalkeeper Tolga Zengin as an outfield player if he is needed.
Forward Nihat Kahveci was ruled out of the competition as he has flown back to Spain for an operation on his thigh injury.
Emre Güngör is also out of the tournament through injury.
Defender Servet Çetin is almost certain to miss the semi-final as well with a knee problem, while Tümer Metin, who has a groin strain, may be able to play for the last 30 minutes.
Defender Emre Aşık and attacking midfielders Tuncay Şanlı and Arda Turan are the suspended players after picking up two yellow cards each.
Although Brazilian-born midfielder Mehmet Aurelio does return from his suspension, their skipper Emre is still unfit and had been rated 50-50 to recover in time for semi-final.
The former Newcastle player suffered a hamstring injury in Turkey's Group A opening defeat to Portugal, but has resumed training and could be forced back into action.
The decision on his fitness will be made just before kickoff.
Turkey's selection problems deepened after UEFA rejected their appeal against first choice goalkeeper Volkan Demirel's suspension.
Volkan was shown a straight red card for pushing striker Jan Koller to the ground in injury-time of their final group match against Czech Republic.
He serving the second match of his two-match ban for that offense and missed Turkey’s quarter-final victory over Croatia.
However, Turkey have established themselves as the comeback kings after showing an astounding mental strength and never-say-die attitude in getting this far.
The Turks have trailed to Switzerland, Czech Republic and Croatia before scoring stoppage time goals and winning the matches.
Turkey will also be encouraged as they have a good recent record against the Germans.
They were unbeaten in the last three meetings between them, having won twice and drawn once.
But both sides have never met each other in the quarter-finals of a major international tournaments.
The situation is the exact opposite for the Germans, who came into the competition as one of the big favorites, as their preparations have gone smoothly.
Der trainer Joachim Löw will be back on the bench after his one-match ban in the stands.
Their hard-tackling midfielder Torsten Frings has recovered from a rib injury that kept him out of the quarter-final win against Portugal.
But Löw, who reinvented Lukas Podolski as a midfielder, will have to decide whether to stick with the winning formula he used against Portugal, or go back to his favoured 4-4-2.
The absence of Frings caused a change of formation from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1, which worked very well against Portugal.
However, for the 48-year-old, his players must put the work in, no matter what formation they use.
Löw, who had two spells coaching in Turkey, hopes today's semi-final would go peacefully on and off the pitch.
He took charge of Fenerbahçe, the most successful club in Turkey, in the 1998-99 season, and returned to the country in 2001 for a short spell at Adanaspor.
This match has effected significant tension to mount back in Germany, which boasts a three million of Turkish minority.
Germany is home to a three million people of Turkish origin and when Turkey qualified for the final four, fireworks exploded in the sky over Berlin and other cities as tens of thousands of people celebrated in the streets.
Possible line-up
 | Germany |  | Turkey | |
| 1 | Lehmann | 1 | Rüştü | |
| 3 | Friedrich | 3 | Balta | |
| 7 | Schweinsteiger | 4 | Gökhan Zan | |
| 8 | Frings | 6 | Mehmet Topal | |
| 9 | Gómez | 7 | Mehmet Aurelio | |
| 11 | Klose | 9 | Semih | |
| 13 | Ballack | 10 | Gökdeniz | |
| 16 | Lahm | 18 | Kazım Kazım | |
| 17 | Mertesacker | 20 | Sabri | |
| 20 | Podolski | 21 | Erdinç | |
| 21 | Metzelder | 22 | Altintop |
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